MASS HAPPINESS FOR ONE AND ALL!

Since the first modest ascension of 13 balloons on a chilly April morning in 1972, people have gathered to watch and be a part of Balloon Fiesta.  Between then and now, Balloon Fiesta has grown into the largest hot air balloon gathering in the world.  And, during those years, the event has picked up speed, size and momentum to  include special shape balloons, balloon glows and new world records.

Balloon Fiesta has a great story to tell.  The story is told to the world in many different ways – through the eyes of print and television reporters, photojournalists, free-lance writers, photographers, videographers, balloon pilots, crew, volunteers, spectators and kids.  Their impressions are as interesting and as varied as Balloon Fiesta itself.  They range from panoramic photographs to video stories told in many different languages, to front page articles in major publications and headline television news stories.  The enchanting images of balloons of all shapes and sizes floating in the October sky conjure up more descriptive adjectives than you can imagine.

Balloon Fiesta is a gem – the crown jewel of Albuquerque.  It is the gift we give to children of all ages from all corners of the world.  For those of you who have been to Balloon Fiesta, you know the event is captivating, scintillating, and truly one-of-a-kind.  Balloon Fiesta must be experienced first hand to understand the true magic of the gift.  Pictures and postcards will never completely capture the true wonder of flying in a hot air balloon or experiencing hundreds of brightly colored aircraft launching all around you, and floating happily in the sky above you.

The Balloon Fiesta draws hundreds of thousands of guests every year.  This is the 38th year for this world-class ballooning spectacular with nine days of flying, five morning mass ascensions, four special shape events, five evening balloon glows, two “prize grab” days – all of which add up to one fun-filled, nine day event, and you are invited!  If you have been here before, you surely want to come again, and if you’ve never been, you’re in for a real treat!

This year, there are 650 pilots registered to fly 550 balloons during Balloon Fiesta who hail from 17 countries and  38 states.

Countries:  Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

States:  Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida,Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New England, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahonma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont,Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

If you haven’t experienced Balloon Fiesta from a lovely viewing patio from the launch field, we suggest you try either the Chaser’s Club (includes admission to the park and a hospitality tent) or the Gondola Club (includes parking, shuttle service, and gourmet meals).  Both the Gondola Club and the Chasers’ Club provide excellent views of the launch field – the best seats in the house!  Enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers are on hand to answer any and all questions you might have, and can provide you with a wealth of information on the sport of ballooning and other activities and sights to see between the morning and evening Balloon Fiesta events.

For more information on all things Balloon Fiesta, please visit our newly designed website at www.balloonfiesta.com.   If you are on Facebook or Twitter, you can find and talk with other hot air and gas enthusiasts from virtually every corner of the earth.

The annual Corrales Harvest Festival and the Wagner’s Farmland Experience corn maze attract visitors by the thousands in search of some old-fashioned country fun for children of all ages.

The 24th annual Corrales Harvest Festival, September 26-27, 2009, is indeed a community event, with special activities planned throughout the village, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. Festivities include the annual pet parade, salsa contest, home-made pie contest, juried arts and crafts show, 5K and 10 K runs, and hayrides throughout the village, plus: Entertainment, ponies, vaulting and face painting at the Village Mercantile; wine and gourmet food tasting at the Frontier Mart and beer tasting at the Corrales Bistro Brewery; Mercado Antiguo, crafts for children, apple tasting and corn shelling at the Old Church; animals, blacksmiths, a puppet playhouse, Spanish guitar and traditional music at Casa San Ysidro; and Kid’s Zone with rides at the Corrales Recreation Center east soccer field.

Wagner’s Farmland Experience – complete with corn maze, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, ristra tying, cow milking, farm tour, horse and plow demonstrations, and live entertainment – is open mid-September through October at Wagner’s Farm, 6445 Corrales Road in the heart of Corrales.

This year’s theme is “Experience Farming: It’s Down To Earth Fun.”  Wagner’s Farmland Experience will feature a 6-acre corn maze, hayride, orchard tour, pumpkin patch, Saturday evening mazes with bonfires, and a collaboration with the Land/Art project featuring artists Jaune Quick-To-See Smith and Neal Ambrose Smith, celebrating the animals of the middle Rio Grande Valley.

www.wagnersfarmlandexperience.com or www.corralesharvestfestival.com.

The Harvest Wine Festival brings together over a dozen of New Mexicos numerous wineries to showcase one of the state’s oldest agricultural industries and celebrate the late summer harvest of the grapes. Sample wines or buy by the glass for consumption on site or bottles and cases to take home.

Participate in (or at least watch!) hourly grape stomps where contestant teams compete to get the most juice out of their grapes. Attend a session in the University of Wine to learn how to appreciate wine, how to pair with food, how to fully enjoy.

Join us September 5, 2009 through September 7, 2009 from 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM.

Click here for more info!

The New Mexico Wine Festival at Bernalillo wraps up the summer with the premier wine festival of the southwest! Just north of Albuquerque, the historic town of Bernalillo is host to the biggest wine festival in the state. Lots of great music, arts and crafts, and those summer foods we all love make a perfect backdrop for wine, wine, wine!

Live entertainment and 20 or more New Mexico wineries will be present. There will be free wine tasting and wine available for purchase by the glass, bottle, or case. Street and fee parking is available around the festival. Lush green grass makes for a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. Over 20,000 are expected to attend the biggest and oldest wine festival in New Mexico, now in its 22nd year.

Click here for more details!

American Eagle Airlines Launches Service From Los Angeles to Roswell, N.M.

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, today launched service to Southeastern New Mexico with four nonstop flights per week from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Roswell International Air Center (ROW). This new service will be operated with 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140 jets, and is in addition to the three daily round-trip flights now offered between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Roswell.

“We have received tremendous community support from Roswell and are delighted to connect the communities of Southeast New Mexico with convenient jet service to the West Coast,” said American Eagle President and CEO Peter Bowler. “Customers can arrive in Los Angeles first thing in the morning and connect to popular Western destinations such as Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Diego – or to cities throughout the American and American Eagle network.”

Customers can also make convenient connections in Los Angeles to destinations in the Pacific Northwest, via American’s codeshare agreement with Alaska Airlines.

“I’m very pleased that American Eagle is building on its success in Roswell by offering this new service to Los Angeles,” U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman said. “This demonstrates a great commitment to southeastern New Mexico.”

“Once again, we are extremely appreciative of American Eagle,” said Roswell Mayor Sam LaGrone. “With jet service to LAX, we provide opportunities for our businesses, increase tourism and expand our air service for our citizens in Southeast New Mexico.”

  The schedule to and from Roswell (all times local):

  Los Angeles to Roswell (LAX-ROW)

  Flight           Departs           Arrives               Days

  3113             2:55 p.m.         6:00 p.m.     Sat, Sun, Tues, Thurs

  Roswell to Los Angeles (ROW-LAX)

  Flight           Departs           Arrives               Days

  3114*            7:00 a.m.         8:15 a.m.       Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri

  *Begins Wednesday, August 26

  About American Eagle

American Eagle operates over 1,500 daily flights to nearly 160 cities throughout the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico and the Caribbean on behalf of American Airlines. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection airlines serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American’s award-winning Web site, AA.com, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve more than 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com We know why you fly and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc.

The CNNMoney.com website is full of good news today:

“After three years of declines, home prices increased 2.9% in the three months ended June 30, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller report. That is the first quarter-over-quarter improvement in three years.

Prices in the national index are down 14.9% compared with the second quarter of 2008, the report said. But that is better than the record 19.1% decline that was set in the first three months of 2009.

‘We’re seeing some positive signs,’ says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s.”

Read more here.

Time To Get Off The Fence And Take Advantage Of Low, Low Prices!

CNNMoney.com reported that The Conference Board, a New York-based business research group, said today that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 in August from an upwardly-revised 47.4 in July.

According to Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: “Consumer confidence, which had posted back-to-back monthly declines, appears to be back on the mend. The Present Situation Index increased slightly, mainly the result of an improvement in consumers’ assessment of the job market. The Expectations Index improved considerably and is now at its highest level since December 2007 (Index, 75.8). Consumers were more upbeat in their short-term outlook for both the economy and the job market in August, but only slightly more upbeat in their income expectations.”

You can read more details here, where it very much appears as if the economic clouds are slowly starting to part.

Now is the best time for you to take advantage of what is still a buyer’s market!

Lower your risk and raise your rewards by investing in New Mexico land. Take a look at Southwest Properties’ 3-140 acre parcels in three distinct ranches—you’re sure to find one that makes your portfolio sing. Land is a solid, tangible investment. The land is yours: build on it, camp on it, ride on it, play on it or have it and hold onto it as a long-term investment.

The choice is yours!

The Arizona Republic recently published a short note reminding investors that real estate investment is truly a time-tested method for building wealth and urged buyers not to “let the real-estate market’s slide deter you from considering owning property to grow your nest egg”.

In even better news, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared today in a speech given at an annual Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the economic activity in both the U.S. and around the world appears to be “leveling out,” and “the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good.”

With the current buyer’s market in the real estate arena, there’s never been a better time to invest in a beautiful parcel of New Mexico land. Southwest Properties offers guaranteed financing and no credit checks, paving the way for your peace of mind as a land owner. With three distinctive properties to chooser from, you will be able to find your the new home, vacation getaway or investment possibility that best fits your needs. Call now!

Each August for the past eighty years, Santa Fe Indian Market^® has brought together the most gifted Native American artists from the U.S. with millions of visitors and collectors from around the world. The extended weekend of beauty and celebration ranks as the world’s largest and most highly acclaimed Native American arts show and as New Mexico’s largest attended annual weekend event.

2009 Official Santa Fe Indian Market^® Schedule of Events

For more information and details on Indian Market Events and Official Indian Market Partner Events, please click on the “Events” and “Press” links. For press inquires and interview requests, please contact Gabe Gomez at (505)983-5220

Please Note: Some of these events are Ticketed Events. For ticket information please contact SWAIA at (505) 983-5220

Indian Arts and Culture Week Press Preview and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Hotel Santa Fe 1501 Paseo De Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (800) 825-9876 Tuesday, August 18, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Breakfast with the Curators: Talk by Dr. Bruce Bernstein (Ticketed Event) Museum of Indian Arts and Culture 710 Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 476-1250 Wednesday, August 19, 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM $25 Per Person. $20 per MNNF Member

(Re) Presentation… Native Writers Reading, Book Signing and Reception St. Francis Auditorium 107 W. Palace Ave. Santa Fe Palace (505) 476-5072 Wednesday, August 19, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Art Quantum: The Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art. Panel Discussion and Reception New Mexico History Museum 113 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, NM (505) 476-5200 Thursday, August 20, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

SWAIA Artist Fellowship Winner’s Wine Reception Patina Gallery 131 W. Palace Ave. (505) 986-3432 Thursday, August 20, 5:30 PM

Native Cinema Showcase Cathedral Park Schedule 213 Cathedral Pl. Santa Fe, NM 87501 Friday, August 21, 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM Saturday, August 22, 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM Sunday, August 23, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Best of Show Ceremony (Ticketed Event) Santa Fe Convention Center 201 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe, 87501 (505) 983-5220 Friday, August 21, 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Sneak and General Preview of Award Winning Art (Ticketed Event) Santa Fe Convention Center Friday, August 21, 201 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe, 87501 (800) 777-2489 Sneak Preview 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM General Preview 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

2009 Santa Fe Indian Market^® Santa Fe Plaza, Downtown Santa Fe, NM Saturday, August 22, 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Lifetime Achievement Houser Legacy and Pov’ika Awards Presentation Santa Fe Plaza, Downtown Santa Fe, NM Saturday, August 22, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Skateplotation! Skate Competition presented by SWAIA and Apache Skateboards Warehouse 21 1614 Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505)989-4423 Saturday, August 22, 1:00PM to 5:00PM

The Future of Indian Market: Film, Video, and Beyond Cinema Discussion by Bruce Bernstein, PhD, and John Torres-Nez, PhD. Cathedral Park 213 Cathedral Pl Santa Fe, NM 87501 Saturday, August 22, 1:45pm – 3 :00 PM

Indian Market Live Auction Gala (Ticketed Event) La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM 100 E. San Francisco St., Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505)982-5511 Saturday, August 22, 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM

2009 Santa Fe Indian Market^® Santa Fe Plaza, Downtown Santa Fe, NM Sunday, August 23, 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

The 1st Annual Wings of America/SWAIA Two-mile Fun Run and Walk Santa Fe Plaza, Downtown Santa Fe, NM Sunday, August 23, 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Native American Clothing Contest Santa Fe Plaza, Downtown Santa Fe, NM Sunday, August 23, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM